President Jerry Rawlings has said Ghana and Togo should strive to improve further their relations for the benefit of their peoples.
''We should vigorously exploit the factors that unite us to promote the well-being of our peoples,'' he said at a banquet he hosted for President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo who rounds off a two-day official visit to the neigbouring Ghana.
Rawlings said there is goodwill among the peoples of the two countries in forging closer collaboration between them, and mentioned the Ghana/Togo Joint Commission which could be restructured and reconvened to ''enable us further these goals.''
He spoke about the energy crisis facing the sub-region and suggested that Ghana and Togo must take steps to harness and use their resources to prevent a recurrence of the present situation.
''We in Ghana are prepared to collaborate with the people of Togo and other neighbours in resolving the problem,'' he said. ''In this respect, I urge all concerned with the proposed West Africa Gas Pipeline Project to increase their efforts in bringing it into fruition.''
Rawlings said the low level of the Volta Lake makes it vital to establish a formal framework for the collaborative management of the Volta River and its tributaries by the four countries concerned - Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo.
He said the borders created by the colonial masters invariably become sources of conflict among countries.
''Nevertheless,'' he stressed, ''we must resort to peaceful methods to resolve any border problems that may confront us. In this respect, there is the need to reconvene as early as possible the Ghana/Togo Border Redemarcation Committee so that we can together resolve the border issues which have tended to create tension between us in the past.''
He also called for the reactivation of the Quadripartite Committee comprising Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo which had been dormant for years.
Rawlings said the number of refugees in the sub-region is a matter of concern and Ghana hosts a number of them. Some of these refugees are unwilling to return home out of fear or perception of confirmed political instability in their own countries.
''We owe it to ourselves to create conditions which will encourage these refugees to return home to live in peace and contribute to nation building,'' he added.
According to Rawlings, the negative images of Africa portrayed by the international media are beginning to yield a more truthful and positive picture.
''But we still have a duty to ourselves and to our neighbours to reflect all that is best in our continent,'' he said, adding that the pattern of politics in post-independence Africa has tended to be confrontational and intolerant of dissent but ''we are breaking away from this pattern.''
He said African countries must continue to create a secure environment for citizens to participate in the political process. The existence of an electoral system which guarantees equal opportunity to participate is crucial to confidence-building and stability.
''By choosing the path of transparency and democracy we silence those unceasing critics of our continent who see us as incapable of taking our destiny into our own hands,'' he added.
Eyadema said Ghana/Togo relations have improved considerably since Rawlings's visit to Togo two years ago, adding that the two countries should not create conditions for their enemies to take advantage of them.
He praised the political leadership in Ghana and said progress has been made in all spheres of national life which has enabled the country to contribute to sub-regional unity.
Eyadema said the achievements of the Nigeria-led West African Peace Force (ECOMOG), in Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as the military exercises involving troops from different countries of the sub-region are clear indications of their willingness to create an African Peacekeeping Force.
He thanked the government for continuing to supply power to Togo despite the drastic reduction of power supply from the Akosombo Power Generation Station due to the low level of water in the Volta Dam.
